Bandit Alley
MODEL SPECIFIC => SUZUKI BANDIT 600 thru 1200 - AIR/OIL COOLED TECHNICAL => Topic started by: bandaid on May 10, 2006, 09:40:37 PM
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I have a 97 Bandit 1200s with 15,000 miles. When I ride in traffic for even 15 minutes it overheats. RPMs increase, bike stalls and won't turn-over until I let it cool down for 30 minutes. Would like to identify some causes before I take it to the dealer for a fleecing. Any help is appreciated.
Oh yeah, this is my first post and I am counting on my fellow Banditos for your generosity and knowledge.
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Sure you're overheating?
The fact that the revs increase leads me to think fuel starvation....vacuum in the gas tank, pinched fuel line, bad fuel petcock ect.
The next time this happens, open the fuel cap....see if there's a 'pop' when you open the tank, your tank vent isn't working. Common problem and easy fix....and would also cause the symptoms you're describing.
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I have a 97 1200s with 16,000 miles on it and it doesn't normally do that, but the other day when I was in stop and go traffic I noticed the rpms start to rise then it shut off on me, and that was after sitting in traffic for about 20 mins.
I pulled over to let it cool off and then it was fine. My first thought was that it was because it overheated.
This happened again later the same day after more of sitting in stop and go traffic, so I'm thinking it has to do with overheating. But, I'm not an expert.
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I have a 600 and I had similar problems. After riding for a while it would stall out on me and I would have to let it sit for a while, then it would start back up.
I drained the tank, cleaned the hardlines, the vent tube, put in some new NGK plugs, changed the oil/ filter, cleaned the air filter, put in some fresh 91 gas + some carb cleaner in there and that pretty much did the trick for me, runs smooth, idles well.
so you might wanna check out all of the routine maintenance stuff before you take it to a shop to get checked for a ton of $.
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Vapor lock! At higher temps, the reformulated gas available at pumps these days is very prone to it.
Try another brand of gasoline. Different Brands have slightly different compositions.
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We've been getting a lot of "poor running" posts her lately. My always trusty '97 B6 ran like crap the other day. I think we've got bad fuel out there. The fresh gas or switching brands and some fuel additive seems to be working.
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I have seen temps that would fry chicken (300+) and I have NEVER had my bike shut off from excessive heat.
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My '97 B12 (29,000) has never quit when it got hot but, if I get stuck in traffic jams it starts acting wonky. The idle goes up to about 1500+ and it starts to misfire - sometimes it would load up and not really clear out until it cooled down. I am running a DW Stage II & recently leaned it out some, but last week I got stuck in rush hour traffic and it started the same stumble and misfire nonsense until I got it up to normal highway speeds and it cooled back down. I just figured it was the nature of the beast.
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I have a '97 1200S with 38,000 plus. For the last year I have had the same high idle when stuck in traffic..never stalls though. I removed the cooler, flushed it out and also cleaned the externals..the center of the cooler was fairly dirty even though I hose it off each time I wash the bike. I suspected overheating because an oil change would cure the problem for 1000 mi. Been using 10w-40 and am considering going to a heavier oil to see the results.
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Good idea...I suppose the fan would have to be switch operated unless I could come up with a way to attach a t-stat to the engine. I've seen some air cooled Deutz diesels that had the sensor attached between cooling fins on the back cylinder. But with the absence of deep enough fins you would probably have to epoxy a fitting to the engine that would accept the t-stat probe. The best way would be to get the probe into the oil but I'm not real excited about adding adapters or tapping into the supply line on the cooler.
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+1 with the abouve
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I was in this hugh bike blessing today. When we finally got to the spot where the blessing was taking place it was a long line of traffic waiting for your turn as you rolled by the pastor. Anyway the bandit was idling the whole time and the surging rpm's was a problem. Probably 10-15 minutes of this. The engine got real real hot and when I pulled over, I turned it off and let it sit for like three minutes. I'm thinking a real lean running engine due to the fact that I've been having the carb issues this season. When I tried to start it again, the starter just spun like a small R/C car engine. The pinion never engaged the motor. After like fifteen or twenty minutes I managed to get it bump started and it was idling real low the rest of the way home when I came to stops. It was all highway the way home so it stayed somewhat cool. When I got it home and let it sit a few the heat was pouring off it.
Does this bike have some sort of temp sensor that won't let you start the bike? This is now problem number two that I have to deal with. Looks like I'm going to take the first plunge into fixing this here motorcickle. Wish me luck.
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Try Mobil-1 15w50 oil.
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I don't think the oil is the problem. I've sat at idle in much hotter temps with the same type of oil and never had the overheat issue like this. The air temp Sunday wasn't even in the 70's. The weekend prior I rode it all over Long Island in traffic just to see how it would respond to stop and go. I had no issues. I was playing with the stupid throttle screw all day. I couldn't get the bike to idle where I wanted it to, either it was a little high or a little low. I still have yet to get an answer to my question of what happens when the screw is turned counterclockwise versus clockwise. Which way does the throttle plate move with each turn? I'm guessing that counterclockwise opens the plates to lean out the mixture with more air.
Whatever the situation, I know two things. First that throttle screw is not working properly. Its way too tight and I have to practically twist it off the bike to get the tach to budge even slightly. Second those carbs have to be re-jetted and cleaned out. I'm seeing a stage 1 kit from Holeshot in my future.
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Which way does the throttle plate move with each turn?
The idle adjustment screw simply connects to the throttle mechanism. By turning it clockwise, you are simply opening the throttle slightly (the same as turning the twist grip slightly). So to complete the picture, you are opening the throttle plates, which causes the vaccum operated pistons to open slightly, letting in more air, which sucks in more fuel through the jets.
Turning the adjustment counter-clockwise is the reverse.
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Yeah... it does sound like more than oil. (Although my B12 runs noticeably cooler with Mobil 1 than it did with dino M/C oil)
A hot engine can be a sign of an overly lean condition, therefore a jetting or fuel delivery problem.
As previously suggested... have you pulled the spark plugs to check out yet? Also a carb sync does sound in order.
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Being that my summer project of get the boat motor fixed and put that in the water is indefinitely shelved (motor has crap compression on two of six cylinders) I'm going to be pulling the carbs soon. First I need to convince Fear (a.k.a. the girlfriend) that I need to buy the carb kits from Dale. I'm pretty set on a stage 1 mod kit. I think I like the idea of a smoother running engine that is a bit better in the performance department versus sending money back to Suzuki for stock replacement needles and such.
Here's a question to put out there, when winterizing with Dale's kits, what procedures should be followed? I'm beginning to think that it makes sense to run the bike dry and let the carbs sit like that all winter instead of using Stabil and leaving gas in the carbs. I know that stabilizers are supposed to really help keep gas from going stale, especially with the new problems ethanol is creating, but I think I like the idea of dry float chambers. My idea is to run stabilized gas through the carbs then run them dry knowing that any small amounts of gas left will have stabilizer in it anyway.
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I does make a difference how cold the storage is. If it's well below freezing the stabilized gas will be OK for 4-5 months. Also OK to drain the carbs. HIgher temperatures will cause the fuel to react quicker, and then I would likely drain the carbs for sure, but make sure you stabilize the fuel in the tank, or throw it out before you use the bike in the spring.
The worst thing is to leave the unit sit for a year or more. Then you need to take some special precautions.